Bayern Munich struck twice in the second half to earn a 2-0 win over Cologne on Saturday and bounce back from two straight league losses ahead of their Champions League return leg against Arsenal next week.
With Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen 13 points ahead and ready to wrap up their first ever league title with a win over Werder Bremen on Sunday, Bayern tightened their hold on second place on 63 points with five games left.
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They suffered a serious injury blow, however, with winger Kingsley Coman taken off in the 50th minute and ruled out of the quarterfinal against Arsenal with a suspected thigh muscle injury.
“The injury of Kingsley is extremely bitter with him starting a game today after a very long time,” coach Thomas Tuchel told a news conference.
“It looked extremely painful on TV and it certainly won’t be enough for Wednesday [against Arsenal].”
“In quarterfinal you want to have the choice options. Maybe you need to play 120 minutes. It’s a big blow for us.”
With five league matches left, Bayern are second in the Bundesliga on 63 points. VfB Stuttgart, third on 60, host Eintracht Frankfurt later on Saturday.
RB Leipzig, 3-0 winners over VfL Wolfsburg, are fourth on 56, ahead on goal difference of Borussia Dortmund, who face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League next week.
Bayern, buoyed by their midweek performance in London, came out fighting from the start and carved out a half dozen golden chances, including twice hitting the woodwork through Harry Kane and Mathys Tel in a dominant first half.
Five minutes after the restart, Coman was taken off clutching his right thigh. The France international had only returned two weeks ago after an almost two-month absence following a knee ligament injury.
The Bavarians finally broke the deadlock through Raphael Guerreiro’s superb curling shot in the 65th minute from 20 metres out.
They still needed an 89th-minute save from keeper Sven Ulreich to protect their lead before Thomas Mueller scored in stoppage time from a Cologne defensive error to seal the win.